The nitty-gritty: A stellar follow-up to one of my favorite books of 2020, The Trials of Koli is even better than the first book—unique, engaging, emotional and highly satisfying. The future rises out of the past like a fountain, and cannot be held back. Koli’s adventures continue in this excellent follow-up to The Book of […]
The nitty-gritty: A sprawling, epic fantasy with plenty of exciting action, high stakes, and sparkling characters, Ashes of the Sun is a fantastic start to a new series. A race to find a powerful magical artifact, heists, deals, doublecrossing characters and much much more, I had a blast with Ashes of the Sun. This is […]
The nitty-gritty: A dark and demented coming-of-age story, perfect for lovers of slasher horror. So Shanna got a new job at the movie theater, we thought we’d play a fun prank on her, and now most of us are dead, and I’m really starting to feel kind of guilty about it all. This is one […]
The nitty-gritty: An unsettling and suspenseful ghost story with subtle horror elements. I’m so glad I had the chance to read Wonderland, a slow burn horror story that turned out to be a nice change of pace. I heard lots of buzz about Zoje Stage’s Baby Teeth when it came out last year, but I […]
The nitty-gritty: A fast and furious sci-fi adventure/romance with plenty of action and even some emotional character development. Who can resist a cover with a bad-ass female mercenary standing on a pile of books while the world falls to pieces behind her? Certainly not me, which is one reason I was excited to pick up […]
The nitty-gritty: Flyaway is dripping with style and atmosphere, but the plot and characters fell flat for me. Howling wilderness, my mother had once called the bush beyond town. Dad had laughed. My heart sat high in my chest. I was more alive and more scared than I had been for years. Ahead of us, […]
The nitty-gritty: A perfect mix of history and mystery, Opium and Absinthe was both engaging and informative. I don’t read a lot of historical fiction, so I was delighted to discover that I loved reading about New York City in 1899. Kang builds her fascinating, multilayered story around several historical events: first, the publication of […]
The nitty-gritty: Cheryl Low delivers yet another bloody good horror story, complete with vengeful ghosts and buried family secrets. Cheryl Low’s latest horror novella was a perfect distraction from real life, a combination of ghostly hauntings, twisted family secrets, mysteries and even an unexpected love story. All of these elements come together in a short, […]
The nitty-gritty: A lighthearted, humorous “found family” story with plenty of laughs and even a few sweet moments. I enjoyed this unexpectedly humorous and touching novella, even though it didn’t really rock my world. The Order of the Pure Moon Reflected in Water is Zen Cho’s ode to the Chinese wuxia genre of martial arts […]
The nitty-gritty: Ambitious and complex, We Ride the Storm, although beloved by many readers, didn’t quite work for me. There has been a lot of hype surrounding We Ride the Storm, and tons of 4 and 5 star reviews on Goodreads. But this time the hype backfired for me, and I ended up really struggling […]